Have you ever known someone who did not understand the rules of life?  Or who thought the rules were not for them?  Or made  up their won rules for their own sake as life went along and then wondered why things did not go as they had hoped?  We all have, in fact, we may have been that person at one time or another.  There is a reason that God gave us rules.  Rules work for our own good.  Take the Ten Commandments.  Without these commandments, life would be a free for all… only the strong would survive.  But God’s rules provide a place where everyone is safe, where everyone has worth, where everyone is equal.  We do not all have the same wealth or social status, but we do all have the same set of rules to guide our lives and make us whole.  I find it interesting that Jesus added the eleventh: to love one’s neighbor as yourself.  These rules that we often balk at, are the basis for a fruitful and meaningful life.  And Jesus applied them to everyone… even himself.  Today, I thank God for the RULES.  May God give me the wisdom to see how they give me better life, and the strength to apply them to me.  Read Exodus 20:1-17 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Pastor Ed